Frames for mounting canvas art work have been typically made from wood: canvas or other fabric is stretched around the perimeter edges of the frame and fastened in place, typically by stapling, under tension, preferably in two perpendicular directions, so as to provide a uniform plane surface.
High tension is desirable to ensure long life without sagging or wrinkling, however high tension places large loads on the wood frame with a strong twisting force tending to distort the frame and cause loss of tension over time. Quality canvas mounting requires custom milling of specially selected kiln dried wood, and even with frames that have been carefully shaped and smoothed from premium wood material, the wood surface often tends to bind on the canvas and develop friction that interferes with uniform stretching around the edges. Due to these and other shortcomings of the wood frames, the mounting of art canvas on wood frames has continued to represent a difficult task that requires unusual skill and experience to perform satisfactorily, with resulting high cost for labor and materials.